New York -LRB- CNN -RRB- When Sharrif Wilson was released after being wrongfully imprisoned for more than 20 years , he could n't wait to have a hot slice of New York pizza .

`` I feel free . I feel great right now . I 'll able to do things that I -LSB- could n't -RSB- do for the last 21 years , '' Wilson told CNN the day after his February 2014 release .

His freedom was cut short .

Wilson , 38 , died Saturday night at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan after suffering from breathing problems and other health issues , less than a year after DNA evidence led to his freedom , according to a statement from his attorney 's office .

`` They took him away from us . And we finally got him back , '' Fatima Wilson , Sharrif 's sister told CNN affiliate WPIX .

Wilson was arrested in June 1992 , along with his friend Anthony Yarbough , in the slaying of Yarbough 's 40-year-old mother , Yarbough 's 12-year-old sister and 12-year-old cousin in a Coney Island housing project .

Yarbough was just 18 , and Wilson only 15 , when they were accused of murder .

Brooklyn detectives placed Yarbough and Wilson into separate interview rooms and coerced false confessions from the two teens , who were later convicted in separate trials .

Yarbough , who was sentenced to 75 years to life in prison , also was released last year .

Yarbough 's attorney and the district attorney 's office began revisiting the case in 2010 .

In 2013 , new DNA evidence from under Yarbough 's mother 's fingernails matched sperm from the 1999 unsolved rape and murder of Migdalia Ruiz of Brooklyn , according to an investigation by the Medical Examiner 's office .

Yarbough and Wilson were already incarcerated when the 1999 rape and murder occurred , according to Adam Perlmutter , Wilson 's attorney .

`` He was a healthy , young , 15-year-old-boy . And he came out a broken , morbidly obese individual whose health care was n't really well monitored and maintained by state prison authorities , '' Perlmutter told WPIX .

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth P. Thompson said his office examined `` newly discovered scientific evidence that was not available at the time of the trial . ''

`` Based on this new evidence , I believe a jury would have been more likely to return a different verdict , '' Thompson said .

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Wilson 's death recalls the case of William Lopez . After being wrongfully imprisoned for over 20 years , Lopez passed away at age 55 last September of a massive asthma attack , just days before a scheduled pre-motion conference for his $ 124 million lawsuit against New York City .

He had been out of prison less than two years , said Jeffrey Deskovic , whose foundation had worked with Lopez to help secure his release .

Lopez was convicted of a 1989 Brooklyn murder and sentenced to 25 years-to-life in prison . He was released from prison in January 2013 after a key witness recanted her testimony , saying she had lied in exchange for leniency from the prosecution in her own pending cases , according to the National Registry of Exonerations .

Deskovic feels affected by both deaths , even though he never met Wilson in person .

`` Lives are literally being stolen from these wrongful convictions , '' said Deskovic . `` What is it going to take for our government to finally pass legislation to prevent this ? How many more lives are going to be impacted like this ? ''

Exonerated : Cases by the numbers

CNN 's Haley Draznin and Ben Brumfield contributed to this report .

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Sharrif Wilson , 38 , dies less than one year after his release from prison

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DNA evidence suggests another killer , who committed a crime while pair were in prison